April 21, 2006
Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: (650) 604-3937/9000
RELEASE: 06_24AR
NASA NAMES WORDEN NEW AMES CENTER DIRECTOR
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin announced Friday that Simon P.
"Pete" Worden will be the next director of NASA's Ames Research
Center at Moffett Field, Calif. Worden, a retired U.S. Air Force
brigadier general, is a research professor of astronomy at the
University of Arizona, Tucson.
Ames Research Center is located in California's Silicon Valley at the
core of the research cluster of high-tech companies, universities and
laboratories that define the region's character. With more than $3
billion in capital equipment, 2,500 research personnel and an
approximately $600 million annual budget, Ames has a significant
economic impact in the region.
During his Air Force service, Worden held director and deputy director
level positions with the Air Force Space Command, where he was
responsible for developing new programs, including next generation
launch concepts. He also was commander of the 50th Space Wing, U.S.
Air Force Space Command. He also served as 2nd deputy for technology
with the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, where he received
the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for directing the 1994
Clementine lunar probe mission.
Worden holds a bachelor's degree in astronomy from the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a doctorate in astronomy from the University
of Arizona.
For an official United States Airforce biography, please visit:
United States Airforce Brig. Gen. Simon P. Worden Biography
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home
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